Chapter 7 - The Video of Silvio
Silvio laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“Me.”
Lucinda nodded.
“What exactly was I doing in this magical video?”
“I never saw the full recording.”
“Convenient.”
“I saw enough.”
“Then tell me.”
Lucinda looked at him.
“Do you remember Palermo?”
Silvio’s expression changed.
Twelve years earlier.
A dockside warehouse in Sicily.
A business dispute that turned violent.
Silvio had been twenty-six.
Young.
Arrogant.
Still working for his father.
A man named Carlo Ventresca had tried to stab Arturo during a meeting.
Silvio intervened.
Carlo fell from a loading platform.
He died before the ambulance arrived.
The local investigation had ruled it self-defense.
Lucinda continued.
“Grant had footage from another camera.”
Silvio felt cold.
“What footage?”
“It looked like you pushed Carlo after he was already disarmed.”
“That never happened.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because Father said the timestamps were wrong.”
Silvio stared at her.
“Grant fabricated it.”
“Yes.”
“And Dad believed he could ruin me with it.”
“Not just you.”
Lucinda’s voice shook.
“Grant said he could make it look like Father ordered the killing.”
Silvio finally understood.
Arturo had not been grieving in silence.
He had been trapped.
Grant had controlled him with forged evidence.
“What did he force Dad to do?”
“Change parts of the trust.”
Silvio’s fists tightened.
“Which parts?”
“The voting structure.”
“The temporary guardianship language.”
“And the clause that sends Mateo’s shares to me if the children die before transfer.”
Silvio stared at her.
“You let him write a death incentive into the trust.”
“I signed what Father told me to sign.”
“You knew Grant was blackmailing him.”
“I knew later.”
“How much later?”
Lucinda said nothing.
Silvio’s voice hardened.
“How much later?”
“Three months.”
Silvio looked away.
Three months.
She had known for most of the final year of Arturo’s life.
“And you still stayed with Grant.”
“I had nowhere to go.”
“You had me.”
“You were gone.”
“You could have called.”
Lucinda’s anger finally broke through.
“You hated all of us.”
“I hated the business.”
“You stopped answering.”
“Because every call was about the business.”
“Father told me you never wanted to hear from us again.”
Silvio went still.
“That’s a lie.”
Lucinda’s eyes widened.
“He said you told him that.”
“I never did.”
The room fell silent.
Grant had not merely manipulated money.
He had isolated them.
One lie at a time.
Silvio’s phone vibrated.
His investigator.
“We found Dean Mercer.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“County airport.”
Silvio moved toward the door.
“He was trying to board a charter flight under another name.”
“Hold him.”
“There’s a complication.”
“What?”
“He says he’ll only talk to you.”
Silvio stopped.
“Why?”
The investigator hesitated.
“Because he claims Grant Holloway didn’t order Mateo’s death.”
Silvio’s jaw tightened.
“Then who did?”
“He won’t tell me.”
Silvio glanced back at Lucinda.
She looked terrified again.
The investigator continued.
“But he said one thing.”
“What?”
“He said Mateo’s death started as a warning.”
May you like
Silvio felt every muscle in his body tighten.
“And ended as a murder because somebody panicked.”
